How often does the "let's transfer our Broadway show back to Off-Broadway" strategy work?
How often does the "let's transfer our Broadway show back to Off-Broadway" strategy work?
How often does the "let's transfer our Broadway show back to Off-Broadway" strategy work?#1
Posted: 4/21/26 at 1:59am
Eg the Rent revival (2011), Avenue Q, Kinky Boots etc. where the idea appears to be that it will have success in a slightly smaller scale but run for a while. A related question, if the economics of Broadway is tough right now what it is it like for Off-Broadway?
How often does the "let's transfer our Broadway show back to Off-Broadway" strategy work?#2
Posted: 4/22/26 at 1:19am
Commercial off Broadway seems to have received a bit of a boom (Little Shop, Oh Mary, Titanique, New World Stages, Studio Seaview, some of the Minetta Lane stuff), and I think it helps that they seem more conscious of budget when it comes to production values and the small capacities help to generate buzz. This is all anecdotal but that seems to be the case from what I can see.
It doesn't seem like the Kinky Boots transfer really worked out (though I suppose it came at a bit of an odd timing, with the original show still a bit fresh in people's minds, but not riding the buzz of an immediate transfer like Avenue Q or Jersey Boys). But also it seems that Stage 42 just hasn't really been able to sustain a hit (was the DND show their longest running show in recent memory?) and I hope Gotta Dance finds its audience there but I'll admit I'm a bit dubious.
Six may be able to make a successful transfer, but they'd probably have to shake up their marketing/casting for it and in the future I could possibly even see Mincemeat making the move as well.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/27/21
How often does the "let's transfer our Broadway show back to Off-Broadway" strategy work?#3
Posted: 4/22/26 at 2:20am
Play That Goes Wrong has done very well shifting to off-broadway
How often does the "let's transfer our Broadway show back to Off-Broadway" strategy work?#4
Posted: 4/22/26 at 3:16am
I’m curious about New World Stages because I had never been there before until our trip in March. We ended up getting tickets at the TKTS booth for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Heathers and I was struck by the youth of the audiences. Lots of teens and people in their 20s. Spelling Bee had more families, I suppose, but I did wonder about the economics. They are small theaters featuring recent Tony nominees at reasonable prices along with performers (some very talented) with short resumes.
I did wonder later how profitable these shows are, and how the economics differ from Broadway productions. People have frequently said Six should move to New World Stages, but how much in operating costs would that save producers?
There was a plucky, charming ‘Let’s put in a show!’ dynamic there that fit the musicals I saw well.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
How often does the "let's transfer our Broadway show back to Off-Broadway" strategy work?#5
Posted: 4/22/26 at 8:08am
Six would need a Stage 42 vibe, it’s still a pop concert. I don’t think it would work as well in a tiny theater. I could see Oh Mary eventually shifting to maybe the theater across from The Public? Running for awhile on a variety of names.
How often does the "let's transfer our Broadway show back to Off-Broadway" strategy work?#6
Posted: 4/22/26 at 10:28am
I never saw it in small theatres but Six did originally plat a 350 seat theatre in London and even smaller venues before its transfer. I'm guessing it can still work at a revenue the size of New World Stages.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
How often does the "let's transfer our Broadway show back to Off-Broadway" strategy work?#7
Posted: 4/22/26 at 10:39am
London is a different beast than NYC. Wages wise, Union wise, etc.
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